Milla Jovovich

Birth name:

Milica Natasha Jovovich

Date of Birth:

17 December 1975 Kiev, USSR (now Ukraine)

Height:

5' 8½" (1.74 m)

Biography:

Milla Jovovich was born in 1975 in Kiev, Ukraine, to a Serbian pediatrician and a renowned Russian actress. Her family moved to the U.S. in 1981 and she began her remarkable modeling career at age nine. At age 12, she was chosen by legendary photographer Richard Avedon as one of Revlon's "Most Unforgettable Women in the World" and has since appeared on over 150 magazine covers around the world. Milla appeared in ad campaigns for Chanel, Versace, Emporio Armani, Donna Karen, DKNY, Celine, P... more

Milla Jovovich was born in 1975 in Kiev, Ukraine, to a Serbian pediatrician and a renowned Russian actress. Her family moved to the U.S. in 1981 and she began her remarkable modeling career at age nine. At age 12, she was chosen by legendary photographer Richard Avedon as one of Revlon's "Most Unforgettable Women in the World" and has since appeared on over 150 magazine covers around the world. Milla appeared in ad campaigns for Chanel, Versace, Emporio Armani, Donna Karen, DKNY, Celine, P&K, H&H, and continues her role as the worldwide spokesmodel for L'Oreal. Thanks to their continued success with Milla, Giorgio Armani chose her to be the face of his fragrance, Night. In addition to Armani's fragrance, Milla was the face for Calvin Klein's Obsession and Christian Dior's Poison for over 10 years and has most recently become the new face for Donna Karan's Cashmere Mist fragrance, which debuts in August 2009. Milla continues to shoot with the fashion industry's most sought after photographers, including Peter Lindbergh, Mario Sorrenti, Craig McDean and Inez & Vinoodh.Milla made her acting debut in the Disney Channel movie The Night Train to Kathmandu (1988) (TV) and she made guest appearances on television series including "Married with Children" (1987) (in 1989 as a French exchange student), "Paradise" (1988) and "Parker Lewis Can't Lose" (1990) Her first feature film was Two Moon Junction (1988) with Sherilyn Fenn and starred in Return to the Blue Lagoon (1991) at age 15. She played opposite Christian Slater in Kuffs (1992) prior to appearing in Sir Richard Attenborough's critically-acclaimed Chaplin (1992), playing the silent screen legend's second wife, Mildred Harris, opposite Oscar nominee Robert Downey Jr.. Her film credits also include Richard Linklater's cult classic tale of 1970's high school slackers, _Dazed and Confused (1996)_.Milla's breakthrough starring role in motion pictures came in 'Luc Besson''s science fiction thriller, The Fifth Element (1997) opposite Bruce Willis. Her portrayal of a "perfect being" who holds the key to preventing evil from destroying the world won the hearts of fans and critics alike. She followed that success with a role as a prostitute in Spike Lee's He Got Game (1998) with Denzel Washington. Next, Milla followed in the footsteps of such screen legends as Ingrid Bergman and Jean Seberg to achieve critical acclaim as Joan of Arc in the title role of Besson's The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999).She next appeared with Mel Gibson in Wim Wenders' The Million Dollar Hotel (2000) which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival. She went on to co-star with Wes Bentley and Sarah Polley in The Claim (2000) and in Ben Stiller's spoof of the world of models and high-fashion, Zoolander (2001).Milla achieved box office success in the U.S. and around the world with the action-packed thriller, Resident Evil (2002), based on the wildly popular video game, Resident Evil. It was written and directed by 'Paul W.S. Anderson'. Milla reprised her role as the zombie slaying heroine, Alice, in Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) and again in Resident Evil: Extinction (2007). She received glowing reviews opposite Oscar-winner Adrien Brody and Illeana Douglas in Dummy (2002) which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. In the spring of 2006, Milla returned to the big screen as action heroine, Violet, in the futuristic film Ultraviolet (2006) directed by Kurt Wimmer.Focusing on her personal sense of style, her love of fashion led Milla and her friend and business partner, Carmen Hawk, to launch their Jovovich-Hawk clothing line, which achieved instant acclaim in the domestic and international fashion world. The fresh, unique line garnered the attention of red carpet watchers and fashion magazines, including American Vogue, who featured Jovovich-Hawk on their coveted list of "10 Things To Watch Out For In 2005."A student of voice and guitar since she was very young, Milla began writing songs for her first record at the age of 15. Her first album, "The Divine Comedy", was released by EMI Records in 1994. Informed by her experiences as a child growing up as a Russian emigrant in the Red-bashing Reagan era, the introspective European-folkish debut drew favorable reviews for Milla's songwriting and performing. Although, she has not released a follow-up album, she continues to write music, and has had songs featured on several film soundtracks.Charitable work also plays a major part in Milla's life. She has served as Master of Ceremonies and co-chaired with Elizabeth Taylor for the amfAR and Cinema Against AIDS event at the Venice Film Festival, and has been heavily involved with The Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, as well as The Wildlands Project.